Card Game

ABSTRACT

The method for playing cards provides a high scoring option and a low scoring option during each hand. Players take turns drawing a card from a master stack or a discard stack, and discarding a card in return. The cards have point designations. A High Game tally adds points to the winner&#39;s tally and a Low Game tally subtracts points from the winner&#39;s initial pool of points. The deck of card embodiments for use with the card game method can include indicia that can indicate point values for the card. A score card for use with the card game method includes a High Game tally column and a Low Game tally column. The deck of cards includes new designs.

PRIORITY CLAIM, CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS ANDINCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application is related to, claims priority under and claims thebenefit of the earliest available effective filing dates from thefollowing listed applications: Provisional application of John Hanlon,Ser. No. 61/384,708, filed on Sep. 20, 2010, entitled: Card Game. Theentire disclosure of Provisional application of John Hanlon, Ser. No.61/384,708, filed on Sep. 20, 2010, entitled: Card Game, is incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention includes but is not limited to card games, playing cards,score sheets and playing card designs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The method of the card game of the current invention provides a highscoring option and a low scoring option during each hand. In a BeginningDeclaration Game, all of the players indicate whether they will beplaying a High Game or a Low Game before viewing their cards. In anEnding Declaration Game the player who calls the end of a game, the“caller”, indicates whether that player is playing a High Game or a LowGame before the caller can know the contents of the hands of any of theother players.

Players take turns drawing a card from a master stack or a discardstack, and discarding a card in return. The cards have pointdesignations.

The score for each player is tallied for a High Game or a Low Game, andif a game is for more than one hand, each player can have separate highgame and low game scores. The High Game tally adds points to thewinner's tally. The Low Game tally subtracts points from the winner'sinitial pool of points.

Players can decide to play as partners.

The invention includes embodiments of a deck of cards for use with thecard game method of the invention. The embodiments of a deck of cardscan include indicia that can indicate point values for the card.

The invention includes embodiments of a score card for use with the cardgame method of the invention. The score card includes a High Game tallycolumn and a Low Game tally column.

The invention includes designs for embodiments of decks of cards for usewith the card game method of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part ofthe specification, illustrate the embodiments of the present inventionand, together with the description, serve to explain the principles ofthe invention.

FIGS. 1 and 1A are illustrations are score sheet embodiments of theinvention.

FIGS. 2A-4 are flow chart of embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 5-9 are embodiments of the face indicia of playing cards of theinvention.

FIG. 10 is a pagination outline of the drawing sheets 10-1-10-8 thattogether make up drawing 10.

Design Drawings:

FIG. 12 is a rear elevational view of a playing card showing a newdesign;

FIG. 11 is a front elevational view thereof;

FIG. 13 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 14 is a top view thereof.

FIG. 16 is a rear elevational view of a playing card showing a newdesign;

FIG. 15 is a front elevational view thereof;

FIG. 17 is a side view thereof;

FIG. 18 is a top view thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Reference is now made to FIGS. 1-18, wherein embodiments of theinvention are exemplarily illustrated. Although the invention has beenexemplarily illustrated by reference to specific embodiments, it will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made which clearly fall within the scope of theinvention. The invention is intended to be protected broadly within thespirit and scope of the appended claims.

Referring now to FIGS. 5-9, representative cards 128 which comprise adeck of cards are illustrated. It is to be understood that the deck maybe made of any of the physical materials currently known or to bediscovered in the art for making a deck of cards and may includeelectronic representations of a deck of cards for use in conjunctionwith a machine currently known in the art, such as a computer, or to bediscovered.

In some embodiments the deck of cards comprises 52 cards. Each deckincludes one set of 12 cards having a first indicia, one set of 12 cardshaving a second indicia, one set of 12 cards having a third indicia, oneset of 12 cards having a fourth indicia, and one set of 4 cards having afifth indicia. However, it is to be understood that in some embodiments,the deck of cards could have more or less than 52 cards with a pluralityof sets of cards, or in some embodiments four sets of equal numbers ofcards and one set of cards with fewer cards than the other sets, as longas there were sufficient cards for each player to have at least 3 cardsin the player's hands and there would be sufficient cards left over sothat there would be enough cards in the master stack, which is explainedin more detail below, to allow the players to play a plurality of handsbefore the discard stack, which is explained in more detail below, wouldhave to be recycled. In some embodiments, there would be enough cardsleft over in the master stack to enable each player to be able to playnine hands while drawing from the master stack rather than from thediscard stack before the discard stack would have to be recycled.

The card indicia can indicate point value designations 192. The pointvalue designations for some indicia may be identical to the point valuedesignations for other indicia, and the point value designations forsome indicia must be different than the point value designations forother indicia.

In some embodiments, the point value designations for two of the indiciawill be identical, the point value designations for two other of theindicia will be identical, and the point value designation for theremaining indicia will be different than the other four indicia.

In some embodiments the point value designation for two of the indiciawill be ten points, the point value designations for two of the indiciawill be five points, and the point value designation for the remainingindicia will be 12 points.

In addition, in some embodiments, the indicia can have colordesignations that can vary depending on the indicia. In someembodiments, the color designations for two of the indicia will beidentical, the color designations for two other of the indicia will beidentical, and the remaining indicia will not have a color designation.

In some embodiments the color designation for two of the indicia will bered, and the color designation for two of the indicia will be black, andthe remaining indicia will not have a color designation.

In some embodiments the point value designation for the first indicia isfive points, the point value designation for the second indicia is tenpoints, the point value designation for the third indicia is fivepoints, the point value designation for the fourth indicia is tenpoints, and the point value designation for the fifth indicia is twelvepoints.

In some embodiments first indicia has a red color designation, thesecond in indicia has black color designation, the third indicia a redcolor designation, the fourth indicia has a black color designation andthe fifth indicia does not have a color designation.

In some embodiments of a deck of cards the deck comprises a firstindicia 194 that is at least one red diamond having a five point value,a second indicia 196 that is at least one black square having a tenpoint value, a third indicia 198 that is at least one red circle havinga five point value, a fourth indicia 200 that is at least one black dothaving a ten point value, and a fifth indicia 202 that is the word GAMEhaving a twelve point value.

Specifically referring now to FIGS. 5-9 that illustrate a deck of cardscomprising a first set of indicia 204 that is one red diamond and thenumber 5, a second set of indicia 206 that is one black square and a thenumber 10, a third set of indicia 208 that is one red circle and thenumber 5, a fourth set of indicia 210 that is three black dots and thenumber 10, and a fifth set of indicia 212 that is the word GAME and thenumber 12.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A-4 and 10-10-8, embodiments of a method forplaying cards are exemplarily illustrated. Some embodiments of themethod includes providing at least two players. It is to be understoodthat one or more of the players can be human beings or they can beelectronic devices, such as but not limited to computers, currentlyknown in the art or to be discovered that are specially programmable toplay the card game of the current invention.

Each game includes at least one scoring segment, referred to as a“hand”. In some embodiments, as is explained in more detail below, thepoints from each hand are calculated until one player reaches a scorethat has been predetermined to be a winning score for the game. It is tobe understood that a game can include more than one hand. In otherembodiments, as is explained in more detail below, the game can last fora predetermined amount of time, and the score can be a tally of thepoints each player achieves during one or more hands during thepredetermined amount of time. In other embodiments, each game canconsist of one or more predetermined number of hands, and the score canbe a tally of the points each player achieves during one or more handsduring the predetermined amount of time.

As known in the art, the dealer for more than one hand can rotate amongthe players. In some embodiments, the rotation of the dealer ispredetermined by the players. In some embodiments, the dealer rotates ina clockwise direction among the players. In some embodiments, the dealercan remain the same person, player or entity for more than one hand.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2A, which exemplarily illustrates themethod for embodiments of a “Beginning Declaration” game. “BeginningDeclaration” refers to the declaration of a high or low game, which isdescribed in more detail below, during the beginning of the hand.

Before each hand is dealt, when there are at least three players theplayers have the opportunity to declare that they will be playing thehand as partners. See Block 130. To play as partners, two players haveto declare themselves partners for a hand before that hand is dealt.When there are at least four players, there can be more than one set ofpartners, and there can be as many partners as the number of playersallow. A player can only be partners with one other player for eachhand. Not all players have to play as partners.

Further rules for partners include the following, which will beexplained in further detail below: Partners are required to declare ifeither will play High Game or Low Game, and partners do not have to playin the same mode as each other. When a player declares High Game, theplayer must have in their hand the most points compared to all the otherplayers, including the player's partner. When a player declares LowGame, the player must have in their hand the fewest points compared toall the other players, including the player's partner.

Each player is dealt an equal number of random cards providing there aresufficient cards for each player to have at least 3 cards in eachplayer's hands and for enough cards left to be over so that there areenough cards in the balance of the deck, which is referred to as the“master stack” to allow the players to play a plurality of hands beforethe discard stack, which is described in more detail below, will have tobe recycled. See block 132. In some embodiments, there would be enoughcards left over in the master stack to enable each player to be able toplay nine hands while drawing from the master stack rather than from thediscard stack before the discard stack would have to be recycled. Thecards are dealt such that none of the players know what cards the otherplayers have been dealt.

In some embodiments, each player is dealt four cards.

In some embodiments, each player is dealt four cards and the deck has 52cards.

In some embodiments there are four players, each player is dealt fourcards and the deck has 52 cards.

After the cards have been dealt to the players, the non-dealt cards,referred to as the “master stack” are placed face down such that theyare accessible to all of the players, and one card from the master stackis placed face-up, near but not on top of the master stack, to start adiscard stack such that all of the players can view the face-up card.See block 134. In some embodiments, the top card in the master deck isthe card that is placed face up.

When the game, which can be called “Beginning Declaration”, involves thedeclaration of high or low game, which are described in more detailbelow, at the beginning of the hand, the dealt cards remain face downand unknown to each player until each player declares whether thatplayer is playing the hand in high game or low game. See block in FIG.136. Partners do not have to play in the same mode.

After declaring either High or Low Game, each player may then view thecards that they have been dealt in a manner whereby no player can seethe contents of any other player's hand. See Block 138. Partners are notallowed to see each other's cards, and are not allowed to otherwisecommunicate to each other what cards they have or strategy they might beusing. After announcing themselves to be partners for a hand, any timeduring the playing of the hand, if any partner (referred to as the“communicating partner” or “communicating partners”) tries tocommunicate to their partner about the cards in their hand or hands ortheir playing strategy for the hand, the communicating partner is orcommunicating partners are ineligible to play the remainder of the hand.

Each player plays his, her or its hand in a sequential order. The ordermay be any predetermined sequence. In some embodiments, the player tothe left of the dealer will start playing his, her or its hand and eachplayer in a clockwise rotation will play his, her or its hand next.

The hand is played according to the “Beginning Declaration” embodiment,see Block 140, as set forth in more detail below and as exemplarilyillustrated in FIG. 4.

If during the playing of the hand the cards in the master stack becomeexhausted, and the player playing his, her or its hand does not want todraw the top discarded card, the discard stack will be shuffled and thenplaced face down on the playing area to create another master stack,while taking one card from the master stack and placing it face up tocreate another discard stack. See Block 142.

When a player declares game as described in more detail below, inaddition to the caller, see FIG. 4, all players who challenge the calleras the winner reveal the cards in their hands. See block 144. The pointsin each individual revealed hand are tallied, see block 146, the pointvalues are compared and the winner is determined. As described in moredetail below, if a challenger has more points than the caller in a highgame or if the challenger has fewer points than the caller in a lowgame, the challenger will be the winner, and is also referred to as the“real winner”. See block 148. Finally, the score or scores are tallied,see block 150, which is described in more detail below.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2B, which exemplarily illustrates thegeneral method for an “Ending Declaration” game. “Ending Declaration”refers to the declaration of a High or Low Game during the end of theplay of the hand and is described in more detail below.

Before each hand is dealt, when there are at least three players theplayers have the opportunity to declare partners. See block 130. To playas partners, two players have to declare themselves partners for a handbefore that hand is dealt. When there are at least four players, therecan be more than one set of partners, and there can be as many partnersas the number of players allow. A player can only be partners with oneother player for each hand. Not all players have to play as partners.

Further rules for partners include the following, which will beexplained in further detail below: Partners are required to declare ifeither will play High Game or Low Game, and partners do not have to playin the same mode as each other. When a player declares High Game, theplayer must have in their hand the most points compared to all the otherplayers, including the player's partner. When a player declares LowGame, the player must have in their hand the fewest points compared toall the other players, including the player's partner.

Each player is dealt an equal number of random cards providing there aresufficient cards for each player to have at least 3 cards in eachplayer's hands and for enough cards left to be over so that there areenough cards in the balance of the deck, which is referred to as the“master stack” to allow the players to play a plurality of hands beforethe discard stack will have to be recycled. In some embodiments, therewould be enough cards left over in the master stack to enable eachplayer to be able to play nine hands while drawing from the master stackrather than from the discard stack before the discard stack would haveto be recycled. The cards are dealt such that the other at least oneplayer is not does not know what are the other at least one player'scards.

In some embodiments, each player is dealt four cards.

In some embodiments, each player is dealt four cards and the deck has 52cards.

In some embodiments there are four players, each player is dealt fourcards and the deck has 52 cards.

After the cards have been dealt to the players, the non-dealt cards,referred to as the “master stack” are placed face down such that theyare accessible to all of the players, and one card from the master stackis placed face-up, near but not on top of the master stack, to start adiscard stack such that all of the players can view the face-up card. Insome embodiments, the top card in the master deck is the card that isplaced face up.

Each player may immediately view the cards that they have been dealt ina manner whereby no player can see the contents of any other player'shand. See block 152. Partners are not allowed to see each other's cards,and are not allowed to otherwise communicate to each other what cardsthey have or strategy they might be using. After announcing themselvesto be partners for a hand, any time during the playing of the hand, ifany partner (referred to as the “communicating partner” or“communicating partners”) tries to communicate to their partner aboutthe cards in their hand or hands or their playing strategy for the hand,the communicating partner is or communicating partners are ineligible toplay the remainder of the hand.

Each player plays his, her or its hand in a sequential order. The ordermay be any predetermined sequence. In some embodiments, the player tothe left of the dealer will start playing his, her or its hand and eachplayer in a clockwise rotation will play his, her or its hand next.

The hand is played according to the “Ending Declaration” embodiment, seeblock 154, as exemplarily set forth in more detail below and asillustrated in FIG. 3.

If during the playing of the hand the cards in the master stack becomeexhausted, and the player playing his, her or its hand does not want todraw the top discarded card, the discard stack will be shuffled and thenplaced face down on the playing area to create another master stack,while taking the one card from the master stack and placing it face upto create another discard stack. See Block 142. In some embodiments, thetop card in the master deck will be the face-up card.

When a player declares game as described in more detail below, inaddition to the caller, see FIG. 3, all players who challenge the calleras the winner reveal the cards in their hands. See block 144. The pointsin each individual revealed hand are tallied, see block 146, the pointvalues are compared and the winner is determined. As described in moredetail below, if a challenger has more points than the caller in a highgame or if the challenger has fewer points than the caller in a lowgame, the challenger will be the winner, and is also referred to as the“real winner”. See block 148. Finally, the score or scores are tallied,see block 150, which is described in more detail below.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which exemplarily illustrates eachplayer's options when playing a hand in a Beginning Declaration game.Initially, the player can decide whether or not the player wants to callan end to the hand. In some embodiments, the declaration of the end ofthe hand is in the form of the player declaring the word “game”.Declaring the end of the hand will be referred to as “calling game”whether or not the player actually uses the word “game.” See block 156.The player who calls game will be called the “caller” herein. If theplayer decides to call game, the caller must reveal the contents of his,her or its hand. See block 158. In some embodiments, the disclosure isdone by the caller laying down his, her or its cards face up. Inaddition, the points in the caller's hand will be counted. See block160. (Thereafter, as illustrated in block 144 in FIG. 2A any challengersto the caller being the winner will also reveal his, her or its hand.)

If the player decides not to call game, the player must draw one card.The player must decide whether to draw either the top card from themaster stack, see block 162, or the top card on the discard stack, seeblock 164.

A player cannot have more than the dealt number of cards in his, her orits hand. In some embodiments, when four cards are dealt, a playercannot have more than four cards in his, her or its hand. After theplayer draws a card, the player may keep the drawn card or may discardthe drawn card. If the player keeps the drawn card, the player mustdiscard one of the cards that was already in the player's hand beforehaving drawn the drawn card. See blocks 166 and 168. The discarded cardis placed face up on the top of the discard stack.

After discarding a card and before the next player either calls game ordraws a card from the master stack or from the discard stack, again theplayer can decide whether or not the player wants to call game. Seeblock 170. If the player decides to call game, the caller must revealthe contents of the caller's hand. See block 158. In some embodiments,the disclosure is done by the caller laying down his, her or its cardsface up. In addition, the points in the caller's hand will be counted.See block 160. (Thereafter, as illustrated in block 144 in FIG. 2A anychallengers to the caller being the winner will also reveal his, her orits hand.)

If the player does not call game after discarding a card and before thenext player either calls game or draws a card from the master stack orfrom the discard stack, the player must then wait to have an opportunityto play his, her or its hand again until the player's turn comes upagain in sequential order, unless another player calls game in theinterim and thereby ends the hand. See block 172.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3, which exemplarily illustrates eachplayer's options when playing a hand in an Ending Declaration game.Initially, the player can decide whether or not the player wants to callan end to the hand. In some embodiments, the declaration of the end ofthe hand is in the form of the player declaring the word “game”.Declaring the end of the hand will be referred to as “calling game”whether or not the player actually uses the word “game.” See block 174.The player who calls game will be called the “caller” herein. If theplayer decides to call game, that player, referred to at the “caller”must also commit to and disclose whether the caller is declaring a highgame or a low game and the caller must reveal the cards in the caller'shand. See blocks 176 and 178. In some embodiments, the disclosure isdone by the caller laying down his, her or its cards face up. Inaddition, the points in the caller's hand will be counted. See block180. (Thereafter, as illustrated in block 144 in FIG. 2B any challengersto the caller being the winner will also reveal his, her or its hand.)

If the player decides not to call game, the player must draw one card.The player must decide whether to draw either the top card from themaster stack or the top card on the discard stack. See blocks 182 and184.

A player cannot have more than the dealt number of cards in his, her orits hand. In some embodiments, when four cards are dealt, a playercannot have more than four cards in his, her or its hand. After theplayer draws a card, the player may keep the drawn card or may discardthe drawn card. If the player keeps the drawn card, the player mustdiscard one of the cards that was already in the player's hand beforehaving drawn the drawn card. See blocks 186 and 188. The discarded cardis placed face up on the top of the discard stack.

After discarding a card and before the next player either calls game ordraws a card from the master stack or from the discard stack, again theplayer can decide whether or not the player wants to call game. Seeblock 190. If the player decides to call game, that player, referred toat the “caller” must also commit to and disclose whether the caller isdeclaring a high game or a low game and the caller must reveal the cardsin the caller's hand. See blocks 176 and 178. In some embodiments, thedisclosure is done by the caller laying down his, her or its cards faceup. In addition, the points in the caller's hand will be counted. Seeblock 180. (Thereafter, as illustrated in block 144 in FIG. 2B anychallengers to the caller being the winner will also reveal his, her orits hand.)

If the player does not call game after discarding a card and before thenext player either calls game or draws a card from the master stack orfrom the discard stack, the player must then wait to have an opportunityto play his, her or its hand again until the player's turn comes upagain in sequential order, unless another player calls game in theinterim and thereby ends the hand. See block 172

When determining the winner and scoring a hand, generally, if the callerhas declared a low game, the caller will win the hand if the sum of thepoints in the caller's hand is lower than the individual sums of thepoints in the other player's hands; for purposes of description, thecaller in such a situation can be called the “winner”. However, ifanother player has fewer points in his, her or its hand than the caller,then the player with the least number of points in his, her or its handis the winner of the hand; for purposes of description, the player withthe least number of points in his, her or its hand in such a situationcan be called the “winner” or the “real winner”. Similarly, if thecaller has declared a high game, the caller will win the hand if the sumof the points in the caller's hand is higher than the individual sums ofthe points in the other player's hands; for purposes of description, thecaller in such a situation can be called the “winner”. However, ifanother player has more points in his, her or its hand than the caller,then the player with the most number of points in his, her or its handis the winner of the hand; for purposes of description, the player withthe most number of points in his, her or its hand in such a situationcan be called the “winner” or the “real winner”.

During the course of the game, unless the game consists of only onehand, the score of the players can be tallied in both a high game tallyand a low game tally. For each hand, depending on whether the callerdeclares a high game or a low game, the tally will be either under thehigh game tally or the low game tally. Specifically, if the callerdeclares a high game, the winner will have his, her or its points addedto his, her or its High Game tally. If the caller declares a low game,the winner will have his, her or its points subtracted from his, her orits Low Game tally. And if the caller is not the winner, the caller willhave the caller's points added to the caller's Low Game tally if lowgame was declared and the caller will have the caller's pointssubtracted from the caller's High Game tally if high game was declared.

In some embodiments, bonus points can be added to the winner's pointsfor specific types of card combinations. In some embodiments, bonuspoints can be added if the winner has cards that are all the same color.In some embodiments, bonus points can be added if the winner has all redcards or all black cards. In some embodiments, 25 bonus points can beadded if the winner has all black cards. In some embodiments, 10 bonuspoints can be added if the winner has all red cards. In someembodiments, 25 bonus points can be added if the winner has all blackcards and no Game cards. In some embodiments, 10 bonus points can beadded if the winner has all red cards and no Game cards.

It is to be noted that the points in the hands are determined bycounting the points designated to the various cards in the deck. In someembodiments, the points 192 are listed on the face of the cards, asillustrated in FIGS. 5-9. In some embodiments, the point designations ofthe cards will be determined in some other manner and/or agreed upon bythe players in some other manner before playing the hand.

In some embodiments, the tally for a high scoring game starts at zeropoints, and the tally for a low scoring game starts at 200 points. Insome embodiments, the winner of a game is the first player to accumulate400 points from a starting point of zero in the high game scoring tallyor the first player to have all 200 points deducted in the low gamescoring tally. In another similar embodiment, the winner of the game isthe player who is closest to either 400 high game points or zero lowgame points when the game ends (such as when time runs out or when adesignated number of hands have been played.) For example, if one playerhas 10 low game points and another player has 380 high game points, theplayer with 10 low game points would win the game.

In some embodiments, the player who has had the most points added to orsubtracted from the player's tally when have the game ends (such as whentime runs out or when a designated number of hands been played) is thewinner of the game. For example if one player has added 100 points inthe high game tally and has subtracted 199 points in the low game tally,and no other player has either added or subtracted more than 198 points,the player who has subtracted 199 points is the winner of the game. Inanother similar embodiment, the player who has had the most total pointsadded to or subtracted from the player's tally when the game ends (suchas when time runs out or when a designated number of hands have beenplayed) is the winner of the game. For example if one player has added100 points in the high game tally and has subtracted 199 points in thelow game tally, and no other player has either added or subtracted morethan 298 points, the player who has added 100 points and subtracted 199points is the winner of the game.

Reference is now made to FIG. 10-10-6, which exemplarily illustrates thescoring method in embodiments of the invention and further describes therelevance of the players' declarations of a high or low game. Inaddition, reference is made to FIG. 1, which exemplarily illustrates anexemplary scorecard 220 that can be used with the embodiments of themethod of the current invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a score sheet 220 for scoringembodiments of the game of the invention is exemplarily illustrated. Itis to be understood that other types of scoring sheets, displays andtally methods can be used. Specifically referring to FIG. 1, it may beseen that there is a low 214, which can be designated as “L” and a high216, which can be designated as “H”, column for each player. Furtherthere is a “Mode” 222, “Score” 224 and “Balance” 226 column for eachhand that is played. As is described in more detail below, the Modecolumn designates the mode each player has selected for each hand 230;which can be either Low Game, which can be designated by “L” or HighGame, which can be designated by “H”. It is to be noted that if aBeginning Declaration game is being played all of the players willdeclare whether they will be playing a High Game or a Low Game beforeviewing their cards. In this embodiment, the High or Low Gamedesignations can be indicated on the score card by circling the H or Lfor each player for each hand, as illustrated in FIG. 1. However, if anEnding Declaration Game is being played, only the caller will declareHigh Game or Low Game when calling Game, and only the caller (not shownon FIG. 1) will have the H or L circled on the score sheet for thathand.

In addition on the score sheet, there is a score column that records thescore of the player for each hand if the player actually receives ascore for the hand 230 in question. Further, there is a balance columnthat tallies the score of the player from hand to hand. It is to benoted that if a single player wins or loses some High Game hands andsome Low Game hands, that player will have a score both under the Low“L” column and a separate score under the High “H” column for one game.

Referring also now to FIG. 10-10-8, to score the game, the initialdetermination is whether the caller has designated High or Low Game. SeeBlock 30.

If the caller has designated High Game 32, the next step is to determineif the caller has the most points in the caller's hand or if anotherplayer has the most points in his, her or its hand 34.

If the caller has the most points 36, and the caller does not have apartner 38, the caller receives all of the points in the caller's hand40 under the caller's High Game tally. In addition, if the caller hasall black cards 42, and does not have a Game Card, the caller receivesan additional 25 points in the caller's High Game tally 44. Further ifthe caller has all red cards 46, and does not have a Game Card, thecaller receives an additional 10 points in the caller's High Game tally48.

If the caller has the most points, and the caller does have a partner50, the caller receives all of the points in the caller's hand and allthe points in the caller's partner's hand in the caller's High Gametally 52. In addition, if the caller has all black cards 42, and doesnot have a Game Card, the caller receives an additional 25 points in thecaller's High Game tally 44. Further if the caller has all red cards 46,and does not have a Game Card, the caller receives an additional 10points in the caller's High Game tally 48.

If the caller has the most points, and the caller has a partner, thecaller's partner receives all of the points in the caller's hand in thecaller's partner's High Game tally 54 for that hand.

If the caller does not have the most points 56, the player with the mostpoints is identified, which will be called the “real winner” herein 58.If the caller does not have a partner 60, the caller has all of thepoints in the caller's hand subtracted under the caller's High Gametally 62.

If the caller does not have the most points 56, and the caller has apartner 64, the caller has all of the points in the caller's handsubtracted under the caller's High Game tally.

If the caller does not have the most points 56, and the caller has apartner, the caller's partner has all of the points in the caller's handsubtracted under the caller's partner's High Game tally 68.

If the real winner does not have a partner 70, the real winner receivesall of the points in the real winner's hand in the real winner's HighGame tally 72. In addition, if the real winner has all black cards 42,and does not have a Game Card, the real winner receives an additional 25points in the real winner's High Game tally 44. Further if the realwinner has all red cards 46, and does not have a Game Card, the realwinner receives an additional 10 points in the real winner's High Gametally 48.

If the real winner has a partner 74, the real winner receives all of thepoints in the real winner's hand and all the points in the real winner'spartner's hand in the real winner's High Game tally 76. In addition, ifthe real winner has all black cards 42, and does not have a Game Card,the real winner receives an additional 25 points in the real winner'sHigh Game tally 44. Further if the real winner has all red cards 46, anddoes not have a Game Card, the real winner receives an additional 10points in the real winner's High Game tally 48. In addition, the realwinner's partner receives all of the points in the real winner's handunder the real winner's partner's High Game tally 78 for that hand.

If the caller has designated Low Game 80, the next step is to determineif the caller has the least number of points in the caller's hand or ifanother player has the least number of points in his, her or its hand82.

If the caller has the least number of points 84, and the caller does nothave a partner 86, the caller subtracts all of the points in thecaller's hand under the caller's Low Game tally 88. In addition, if thecaller has all black cards 90, and does not have a Game Card, the callersubtracts an additional 25 points in the caller's Low Game tally 92.Further if the caller has all red cards 94, and does not have a GameCard, the caller subtracts an additional 10 points in the caller's LowGame column 96.

If the caller has the least number of points, and the caller has apartner 98, the caller subtracts all of the points in the caller's handand all the points in the caller's partner's hand under the caller's LowGame tally 100. In addition, if the caller has all black cards 90, anddoes not have a Game Card, the caller subtracts an additional 25 pointsin the caller's Low Game tally 92. Further if the caller has all redcards 94, and does not have a Game Card, the caller subtracts anadditional 10 points in the caller's Low Game column 96.

If the caller has the least number of points, and the caller has apartner 98, the caller's partner subtracts all of the points in thecaller's hand under the caller's partner's Low Game tally 102 for thathand.

If the caller does not have the least number of points 104, the playerwith the least number of points is identified, which will be called the“real winner” herein 106. If the caller does not have a partner 108, thecaller has all of the points in the caller's hand added to the caller'sLow Game tally 110.

If the caller does not have the least number of points 104, and thecaller has a partner 112, the caller has all of the points in thecaller's hand added to the caller's Low Game tally 114.

If the caller does not have the least number of points 104, and thecaller has a partner, the caller's partner has all of the points in thecaller's hand added to the caller's partner's Low Game tally for thathand 116.

If the real winner does not have a partner 118, the real winnersubtracts all of the points in the real winner's hand under the realwinner's Low Game tally 120. In addition, if the real winner has allblack cards 90, and does not have a Game Card, the real winner subtractsan additional 25 points in the real winner's Low Game tally 92. Furtherif the real winner has all red cards 94, and does not have a Game Card,the real winner subtracts an additional 10 points in the real winner'sLow Game tally 96.

If the real winner has a partner 122, the real winner subtracts all ofthe points in the real winner's hand and all the points in the realwinner's partner's hand under the real winner's Low Game tally 124. Inaddition, if the real winner has all black cards 90, and does not have aGame Card, the real winner subtracts an additional 25 points in the realwinner's Low Game tally 92. Further if the real winner has all red cards94, and does not have a Game Card, the real winner subtracts anadditional 10 points in the real winner's Low Game tally 96. Inaddition, the real winner's partner subtracts all of the points in thereal winner's hand under the real winner's partner's Low Game tally 126for that hand.

The following list will further describe the scoring embodiments for theinvention based on the following usage of the following terms: 1)“winner” is the real winner, and the caller when the caller calls highgame and has the most points in the caller's hand or when the callercalls low game and has the fewest points in the caller's hand; 2) “theplayer who erroneously declared game” is the caller when the callercalls high game and the caller does not have the most points in thecaller's hand or when the caller calls low game and the caller does nothave the fewest points in the caller's hand.

1. Non-partner High Game scoring:

-   -   A. The winner will be credited with the value of the cards in        their own hand.    -   B. The player who erroneously declared Game will have a        deduction in their score equal to the value of the cards in        their hand.    -   C. There is no score for the other players.

2. Non-partner Low Game scoring:

-   -   A. The winner will have the points in their hand deducted from        their pool of points, which in some embodiments starts at 200        points.    -   B. The player who erroneously declared Game will have the points        in their hand added to their pool of points, which in some        embodiments starts at 200 points.    -   C. There is no score for the other players.

3. Partner High Game Scoring:

-   -   A. The winner will be credited with the points in their hand        plus those in the partner's hand.    -   B. The partner is credited with the winner's points only.    -   C. The player who erroneously declared Game will have a        deduction in their score equal to the value of the cards in        their hand.    -   D. The partner of the player who erroneously declared Game will        have a deduction in their score equal to the value of the cards        in the player who erroneously declared Game's hand.

4. Partner Low Game Scoring:

-   -   A. The winner will have the points in their hand plus those in        their partner's hand deducted from their pool of points, which        in some embodiments starts at 200 points.    -   B. The partner will have only the points in the winner's hand        deducted from their pool of points, which in some embodiments        starts at 200 points.    -   C. The player who erroneously declared Game will have the points        in their hand added to their pool of points, which in some        embodiments starts at 200 points.    -   D. The partner of the player who erroneously declared game will        have the value of the points in the hand of the player who        erroneously declared Game added to their pool of points, which        in some embodiments starts at 200 points.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1A, which exemplarily illustrates a scoresheet for five exemplary fictional hands, where the Low Game tallystarts at 200 points and wins at zero and the High Game tally starts atzero and wins at 400, as follows:

1. First Hand: Mike calls High Game. Mike has the most points in hishand, which are 32 points. Mike receives 32 points in the High Gametally. None of the other players receives any points.2. Second Hand: Ann calls Low Game. Ann has 25 points in her hand andMike has the least number of points, 20 points, in his hand. Ann has 25points added to her Low Game tally and Mike has 20 points subtractedfrom his Low Game tally. None of the other players receives any points.3. Third Hand: Patricia and Mike are partners. Patricia calls High Gameand has the most points, 40 points, in her hand. Mike has 25 points inhis hand. Patricia gets the value of the points in her hand and inMike's hand added to her High Game tally. Patricia gets 65 points addedto her High Game tally. Mike gets the value of Patricia's hand, 40points, added to his High Game tally. Since Mike already had 32 pointsin his High Game tally, his new High Game balance is 72.4. Fourth Hand: Bill and Ann are partners and Patricia and Mike arepartners. Ann calls Low Game. Mike has the fewest points in his hand, at20 points. The following players have the following points: Patricia has35 points, Ann has 25 points and Bill has 30 points. Mike has the valueof his hand and the value of Patricia's hand subtracted from his LowGame tally. Mike has 55 points subtracted from his low game tally. Sincehe had 20 points subtracted in a previous hand, Mike's Low Game balancefrom a starting point of 200 points is 125. Patricia has the value ofMike's hand, 20 points, subtracted from her Low Game tally. Ann and Billboth have the value of the points in Ann's hand added to theirrespective Low Game tallies.5. Fifth Hand: Ann and Mike are partners and Patricia and Bill arepartners. Ann calls Low Game. Mike has the fewest points in his hand, at20 points. The following players have the following points: Patricia has35 points, Ann has 25 points and Bill has 30 points. As the player thaterroneously called Game, Ann has the value of her hand added her LowGame tally, but as the partner of the real winner, Mike, Ann also hasthe value of the points in Mike's hand, 20 points, subtracted from herLow Game tally. Ann's net point change in her Low Game tally is theaddition of five points. Mike, as the real winner, gets the value of thepoints in his hand, 20 points, and the value of the points in hispartner Ann's hand, 25 points, subtracted from his Low Game tally.However, because he is also the partner of the player who erroneouslycalled Game, he also has the value of Ann's hand, 25 points, added tohis Low Game tally. Mike's net point change in his Low Game tally is thesubtraction of 20 points.

One embodiment of the invention is as follows: The deck of cardscomprises 52 cards. Each deck includes one set of 12 cards having afirst indicia, one set of 12 cards having a second indicia, one set of12 cards having a third indicia, one set of 12 cards having a fourthindicia, and one set of 4 cards having a fifth indicia. Specifically asexemplarily illustrated in FIGS. 5-9 a deck of cards comprises a firstset of indicia 204 that is one red diamond and the number 5, a secondset of indicia 206 that is one black square and a the number 10, a thirdset of indicia 208 that is one red circle and the number 5, a fourth setof indicia 210 that is three black dots and the number 10, and a fifthset of indicia 212 that is the word GAME and the number 12. There arefour players, each player is dealt four cards from the deck. The dealerrotates between the players in a clockwise rotation. The player to theleft of the dealer will start playing his, her or its hand and eachplayer in a clockwise rotation will play his, her or its hand next.Beginning Declaration hands are played. After Game is called, the callerand any challengers to the caller lay their hands on the playing surfaceface up. The players may choose to play as partners. The tally for ahigh scoring game starts at zero points, and the tally for a low scoringgame starts at 200 points. The winner of a game is the first player toaccumulate 400 points from a starting point of zero in the high gamescoring tally or the first player to have all 200 points deducted in thelow game scoring tally. Twenty-five bonus points are added if the winnerhas all black cards and no Game cards. Ten bonus points are added if thewinner has all red cards and no Game cards.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 11-14.

I, John Hanlon, have invented a new design for a playing card as setforth in the following specification:

FIG. 12 is a rear elevational view of a playing card showing my newdesign;FIG. 11 is a front elevational view thereof;FIG. 13 is a side view thereof;FIG. 14 is a top view thereof.Reference is now made to FIGS. 15-18.

I, John Hanlon, have invented a new design for a playing card as setforth in the following specification:

FIG. 16 is a rear elevational view of a playing card showing my newdesign;FIG. 15 is a front elevational view thereof;FIG. 17 is a side view thereof;FIG. 18 is a top view thereof.

1. A method for playing cards, said method comprising providing morethan one scoring process option during each hand.
 2. The method of claim1, said method further comprising providing a high scoring option and alow scoring option during each hand.
 3. The method of claim 2, saidmethod further comprising: providing a scoring method, said scoringmethod comprising providing for each player a possible high scoringtally and a possible low scoring tally.
 4. The method of claim 3, saidmethod further comprising starting said tally for said high scoring gameat zero points, and starting said tally for said low scoring game at 200points.
 5. The method of claim 4, said method further comprisingdetermining the winner of a game to be the first player to accumulate400 points in the high scoring tally or have all 200 points deducted inthe low scoring tally.
 6. The method of claim 2, said method furthercomprising providing a deck of cards, wherein said deck of cards furthercomprise one set of cards comprising a first indicia, one set of cardscomprising a second indicia, one set of cards comprising a thirdindicia, one set of cards comprising a fourth indicia, and one set ofcards comprising a fifth indicia.
 7. The method of claim 6, said methodfurther comprising attributing five points to each card having a firstindicia, attributing 10 points to each card having a second indicia,attributing five points to each card having a third indicia, attributing10 points to each card having a fourth indicia and attributing 12 pointsto each card having a fifth indicia.
 8. The method of claim 7, saidmethod further comprising designating said first indicia to be at leastone red diamond; designating said second indicia to be at least oneblack square, designating said third indicia to be at least one redcircle, designating said fourth indicia to be at least one black dot,and designating said fifth indicia to be the word GAME.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, said method further comprising identifying the winner of ascoring segment and providing a 25 point bonus to said winner of ascoring segment when said winner has all black cards, excluding the GAMEcard, and providing a 10 point bonus to said winner of a scoring segmentwhen said winner has all red cards, excluding the GAME card.
 10. Themethod of claim 6, said method further comprising providing 52 cards,wherein said cards further comprise one set of 12 cards comprising afirst indicia, one set of 12 cards comprising a second indicia, one setof 12 cards comprising a third indicia, one set of 12 cards comprising afourth indicia, and one set of 4 cards comprising a fifth indicia. 11.The method of claim 2, said method further comprising determining thewinner of a scoring segment and identifying the caller for the scoringsegment, and when said winner is not said caller: in a scoring segmentutilizing the low scoring option, crediting said caller with all of thepoints in said caller's hand at the time that said caller called an endto said scoring segment; and in a scoring segment utilizing the highscoring option, deducting from said caller all of the points in saidcaller's hand at the time that said caller called an end to said scoringsegment.
 12. The method of claim 2, said method further comprising:providing at least three players; enabling at least two of said at leastthree players to play as partners in partnerships comprising two playersin a scoring segment; requiring said partners to declare themselves aspartners before the cards are dealt in said scoring segment.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, said method further comprising determining thewinner of said scoring segment and identifying the caller for saidscoring segment, and further comprising when said winner is a partnerand is the caller: in a scoring segment utilizing the high scoringoption, crediting said caller with all of the points in said caller'shand and all the points in the caller's partner's hand at the time thatsaid caller called an end to said scoring segment, or in a scoringsegment utilizing the low scoring option, deducting from said caller allof the points in said caller's hand and the points in the caller'spartner's hand at the time that said caller called an end to saidscoring segment; and, in a scoring segment utilizing the high scoringoption, crediting the partner of the caller with all of the points insaid caller's hand at the time that said caller called an end to saidscoring segment, or in a scoring segment utilizing the low scoringoption, deducting from the partner of the caller all of the points insaid caller's hand at the time that said caller called an end to saidscoring segment.
 14. The method of claim 12, said method furthercomprising determining the winner of a scoring segment and identifyingthe caller for said scoring segment, and said method further comprisingwhen said winner is not the caller and when the caller is a partner: ina scoring segment utilizing the low scoring option, crediting saidcaller with all of the points in said caller's hand at the time thatsaid caller called an end to said scoring segment, and crediting thepartner of the caller with all of the points in said caller's hand atthe time that said caller called an end to said scoring segment; and ina scoring segment utilizing the high scoring option, deducting from saidcaller all of the points in said caller's hand at the time that saidcaller called an end to said scoring segment, and deducting from thepartner of the caller all of the points in said caller's hand at thetime that said caller called an end to the scoring segment.
 15. A deckof cards, said deck of cards further comprising one set of cardscomprising a first indicia, one set of cards comprising a secondindicia, one set of cards comprising a third indicia, one set of cardscomprising a fourth indicia, and one set of cards comprising a fifthindicia.
 16. The deck of cards of claim 15, said deck of cards furthercomprising attributing five points to each card having a first indicia,attributing 10 points to each card having a second indicia, attributingfive points to each card having a third indicia, attributing 10 pointsto each card having a fourth indicia and attributing 12 points to eachcard having a fifth indicia.
 17. The deck of cards of claim 16, saiddeck of cards further comprising designating said first indicia to be atleast one red diamond; designating said second indicia to be at leastone black square, designating said third indicia to be at least one redcircle, designating said fourth indicia to be at least one black dot,and designating said fifth indicia to be the word GAME.
 18. The deck ofcards of claim 15, said deck of cards further comprising 52 cards,wherein said cards further comprise one set of 12 cards comprising afirst indicia, one set of 12 cards comprising a second indicia, one setof 12 cards comprising a third indicia, one set of 12 cards comprising afourth indicia, and one set of 4 cards comprising a fifth indicia.
 19. Ascoring sheet for a card game, said scoring sheet comprising more thanone scoring process option during each hand.
 20. The scoring sheet ofclaim 19, said scoring sheet further comprising providing a high scoringoption and a low scoring option for each player for each hand.